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Posted April 4, 2008 11:30 pm - Updated April 5, 2008 01:43 am

No tax cut from lawmakers

ATLANTA - Georgians won't be getting a tax cut after all.

Republicans who had pledged to wipe out the car tag tax, slash the income tax and cap property assessments delivered on none of those promises Friday night as the clock ran out on a rancorous legislative session.

The logjam over taxes doomed an ambitious effort to fund transportation improvements and another that would prop up the state's cash-strapped trauma network.

The tax cuts fell victim to a bitter - and increasingly personal - clash between House Speaker Glenn Richardson and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, Republicans who were each pushing competing plans.

Richardson pronounced the tax cut "dead" with an hour left in the chaotic final day of the legislative session and called for Cagle's ouster.

"When you go home on the tag tax, tell everyone it has a new name: The Cagle birthday tax. Every time they pay it, they can think of Casey Cagle," said Richardson.

"He has stopped meaningful tax reform in this state," he said.

There was no immediate comment from the Senate leader. In the end, the session that was supposed to deliver bold new initiatives went out with a whimper.

A last-minute compromise to funnel the state portion of property taxes to fund trauma care was scuttled. State lawmakers worked for months to cobble together a plan to allow local governments to levy a 1-cent sales tax for transportation projects to ease the state's congested roads. It passed in the House but fell three votes short of the needed two-thirds majority in the Senate.

Lawmakers voted to allow Georgians with concealed weapons permits carry their guns on public transportation, in state parks and at restaurants.

But vast changes to the education system and drought-inspired measures to bolster Georgia's reservoir system went nowhere. Tax cuts were the biggest casualty of the night and signaled a new feud among the state's ruling GOP.

Richardson had initially wanted to erase the state's property taxes completely. He modified the plan to erase the car tag tax over two years. Senate leaders back a competing proposal that would trim the state income tax by 10 percent over five years.

The House, in a surprise move, voted Tuesday to adopt both plans - which would cost a combined $1.7 billion - but the Senate refused to follow suit. Infighting erupted, and grew worse Friday as leaders in both chambers sniping at each other.

They put aside their differences long enough to achieve their only constitutional duty - adopting the annual budget - late Friday night when they voted to adopt a $21.2 billion budget with virtually no debate.

The spending plan boosts salaries for state employees, funnels money into schools and slashes $245 million without any layoffs or major program cuts. Gov. Sonny Perdue had ordered the spending cuts to deal with slowing tax collections.

The chambers also knocked out a few of other high-profile plans.

The Senate gave final passage to a bill that would fix part of the sex offender law struck down by the state's top court. Senators also voted to allow authorities to seize the cars of unlicensed drivers involved in accidents. And they signed off on a plan to allow consumers to place a freeze on their credit for $3.

The Senate and House each agreed to empower the governor to work out a deal with Tennessee over the state's disputed northern boundary. And both chambers approved an effort to help general surgeons open ambulatory surgery centers.

It was also a day of last-minute amendments and obscure procedural moves that threatened to gut legislation - or transform it into something entirely new.

Rep. Bobby Franklin, R-Marietta, spent 30 minutes trying to turn a bill dealing with dog collar requirements into one that outlawed abortion, until he was quieted by a 152-2 rejection from his colleagues.

House lawmakers spent another 25 minutes arguing whether a measure that would ban retailers from selling marijuana-flavored candy to children infringes on personal rights, before quickly sending it to the Senate.

The marathon day offered retiring lawmakers one last chance to say goodbye to their colleagues. Some, like Democratic state Rep. Bob Holmes of Atlanta, grew emotional as they bid their farewells. Others offered much briefer thoughts.

"Bye," state Rep. Jimmy Lord, D-Sandersville, told the chamber in his one-word adieu. Grateful lawmakers responded with a standing ovation.

Left in the lurch, meanwhile, were a host of education priorities in both chambers.

Prospects for a Senate plan to give students in failing schools vouchers seemed dim, as did a House plan to combine some regular high school courses with specialized technical education classes.

Two measures inspired by Georgia's record drought are also still waiting legislative approval. One would streamline the complex permitting process, while the other would allow state money to be used to expand existing lakes and build new ones.

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Final-day activity

CONSUMER: The Senate voted unanimously to give final passage to a bill that would allow Georgians to freeze their credit for $3 apiece. Senior citizens and residents who can prove they are the victims of identity theft would eligible for free credit freezes.

CRIME: The House and Senate gave final passage to a bill that would fix part of the sex offender law struck down by the state's top court. The bill, which passed 41-8, would allow a sex offender who owns his or her home to stay there if a center where children gather later opens up nearby.

A bill that would allow Georgians with concealed weapons permits to carry guns in state parks, restaurants and on public transportation won final passage. The bill would also allow employees to leave their weapons in their car at work if the employer said it was OK. And it would outlaw straw purchasers.

The House gave its final approval to a plan to add new restrictions on the copying of sexually explicit material involving minors used as courtroom evidence.

The fate of a bill that would ban retailers from selling candy flavored to taste like marijuana to children is up in the air. The House passed its own version of the bill, sending it back to the Senate.

A measure that gained unanimous final legislative approval in the Senate on Friday says that anyone convicted of drunk driving four times in 10 years would face a felony punishable by one to five years in prison, under House Bill 336.

DROUGHT: Some outdoor swimming pools and permanent car washes would be exempt from outdoor watering restrictions under legislation that received unanimous final passage in the Senate. The House voted to empower the governor to settle Georgia's disputed border with Tennessee. The latest version of the bill dropped an attempt to create a border commission after Tennessee lawmakers refused to send representatives to the panel.

EDUCATION: The House agreed to a Senate plan that would give vouchers to students who attend failing schools.

House lawmakers defeated a plan to require elementary school students to complete a physical fitness test and send the results to the state Department of Education by a 103-61 vote.

HEALTH: The House voted to tweak state health care regulations, adopting a plan that would help general surgeons open ambulatory surgery centers. It now goes to the Senate.

IMMIGRATION: Both chambers voted to adopt a bill pushed by opponents of illegal immigration that would allow authorities to seize the cars of unlicensed drivers involved in accidents.

TAXES: A bill that would provide a $146 million tax break for insurance companies by exempting certain providers that offer high-deductible health insurance plans from certain premium taxes passed the Senate 30-20, going next to Gov. Sonny Perdue.

WATER USE: A measure creating a new Bryan County Water and Sewer Authority is on its way to Gov. Sonny Perdue after the measure received final approval in the House.